While researching quotes to explain something regarding a busy year, I stumbled upon this quote from Socrates.
beware the barrenness of a busy life.
When Socrates says “beware the bareness of a busy life”, he is warning that constant activity doesn’t equate to meaningful living. You can be endlessly occupied, yet feel empty or unfulfilled. The “barrenness” here refers to the intellectual emptiness that comes from busyness without any tangible purpose.
Why introduce Socrates? Because his warning cuts through time. When someone who lived 2,400 years ago identifies the exact problem we still struggle with today, it shows that this isn’t a modern complaint about burnout or overwork. It’s a feature of human nature.
This year has been challenging.
That is something I have realised. Objectively, this year has been one of the most challenging years I’ve had. However, despite it being challenging, it has also been the year that I’ve learnt the most.
But what makes it worse is that I didn’t truly notice how challenging it was until it was almost over. When you’re in the middle of the storm, you don’t stop to analyse the weather, you keep moving onwards. One assessment, one deadline, one mistake at a time. Only now, standing at the edge of the year, do I the challenges that I have faced.
There were obvious things which everyone faces, academic pressure, the never-ending amount of coursework, the expectations. Year 12 carries this unspoken narrative that every moment, every minute, every second matters - they each shape your future. And while I now realise that this isn’t entirely true, it’s hard not to internalise that when it’s repeated so often.
It wasn’t just school that made this year bad. It was all the tiny things that quietly accumulated in the background. Friendships that went in ways I never expected, responsibilities I never knew I needed to have, moments where there was quite a bit of stress. It is strange how a small collection of problems can create that feels larger than the sum of its parts.
Yet, despite how challenging this year has been. I can’t deny that I’ve learned more about myself in the past 11 months than in the previous 5 years combined. Hard years like this, even though this may be my very first, have a unique way of exposing your limits, values and blindspots. This year pointed out what actually matters, only by cruelly removing everything that doesn’t.
That is where Socrates’ quotes resonate again. I think a busy life can be barren, not because the tasks themselves are pointless, but because constant motion leaves no real room for reflection. This year has moved so fast that I haven’t given myself space to understand what was happening. I was productive a lot of the time, but not present. I have been achieving, but not absorbing. I was busy, but not living with intention.
As I look back now, I don’t want to repeat the same pattern. If this year has taught me anything, it is that it’s okay to step back and take a moment out. I don’t want next year to be defined by survival. I want it to be defined by awareness, by balance, and choosing the things that bring meaning to me rather than just motions.
Maybe that is the lesson in the chaos of an challenging year. Sometimes the worst seasons force you to rethink the way you live, and in doing so, they set the foundations for something better.